The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum + Intro 15

A key film of the New German Cinema, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum tells a profoundly political story set against a climate of fear and paranoia. Katharina falls for a handsome man at a party, but unbeknownst to her he is an alleged terrorist on the run from the police. The night they spend together throws her life into imbalance as she finds herself subjected to intense surveillance.

Exploited by cheap newspaper sensationalism, Katharina slowly becomes a wider target, with anonymous phone calls and letters, sexual advances and threats all testing the limits of her dignity and sanity.

A stinging and timely commentary on state power and the effects of media manipulation - it feels as relevant today as on its original release in 1975.

This screening will feature an extended introduction by Dr Chris Homewood, Lecturer in German and World Cinemas at the University of Leeds.